Ongoing Attacks in the Red Sea and a Shocking Crime in Rada'a

Khulasat – Key Developments:

The military scene in Yemen during March 2024 was dominated by the continued attacks by the Ansar Allah (Houthi) group on ships in the Red Sea. However, public attention shifted dramatically after a tragic crime in the "Al-Hufra" neighborhood of Rada'a District (Al-Bayda Governorate), where explosive devices destroyed civilian homes, killing 12 people and injuring 5 others, including women and children, most of whom were asleep in their homes.

Not long after the Rada'a incident, local discourse focused on the new 100-riyal coin issued by the Sana'a authorities, sparking concerns about its potential impact on the economy and the value of the Yemeni currency, especially amid the ongoing economic crisis that has plagued Yemen for nearly nine years of conflict. Recently, Yemen was ranked among the most miserable countries in the world.

In this March 2024 digest, Khulasat highlights the key events and developments in Yemen, as detailed below:

Politics:

March saw a political and diplomatic stalemate in Yemen, with the spotlight primarily on the Ansar Allah (Houthi) group attacks on ships in the Red Sea. Among the prominent discussions was an attack by Rashad al-Alimi, President of the Presidential Leadership Council, against the Ansar Allah (Houthi) group over their assaults on ships linked to Israeli interests in the Red Sea. In an interview with Egyptian journalists on TEN TV, al-Alimi accused the Houthis of exploiting the "Gaza issue" to serve Iranian agendas at the expense of Yemeni interests by targeting commercial vessels in the Red and Arabian Seas. The Houthi leadership did not respond to al-Alimi's statements, but the attacks in the Red and Arabian Seas continued throughout March.

Battlefronts:

In March, the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) reported that coalition naval forces had shot down 28 Houthi drones targeting ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. On March 21, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs, Celeste Wallander, stated that the Houthis had carried out at least 50 attacks on ships off the coast of Yemen since the fall. Another defense official admitted during a congressional hearing that the U.S. response had been inadequate. Meanwhile, the Ansar Allah (Houthi) group claimed to have conducted six aerial attacks on ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden within the 72 hours leading up to March 26, including attacks on two American destroyers.

The Ansar Allah (Houthi) group also announced it had targeted four ships: the American vessel MAERSK SARATOGA in the Gulf of Aden, the American vessel APL DETROIT in the Red Sea, the British vessel HUANG PU in the Red Sea, and the vessel PRETTY LADY en route to ports in occupied Palestine.

Additionally, the Houthi group claimed that their air force had launched a "significant" military operation targeting two American warships in the Red Sea. The statement added that the group's missile forces carried out a military operation targeting several Israeli targets in the "Umm al-Rashrash" area in southern occupied Palestine.

Incidents:

On March 18, 2024, the Yemeni Coast Guard, under the internationally recognized government, announced its participation in the rescue operation of three Yemeni fishermen after their boat broke down in the Gulf of Aden.

Thirteen people were killed in a horrific traffic accident on the desert road between Al-Jawf and the Al-Wadiya border crossing, with most of the victims returning from Saudi Arabia.

A government report issued by the Executive Unit for the Management of IDP Camps indicated that heavy rains and floods affected approximately 6,500 families in displacement camps and sites in Marib Governorate, northeast Yemen.

A young Yemeni expatriate, Khaled Qahtan, who also held U.S. citizenship, was shot dead by armed robbers in California, USA. This crime marks the second incident involving Yemeni expatriates in California within nearly two months, following the death of Majed Al-Ezani on January 7, during a robbery at his store by a "gang of shoplifters" in Oakland.

The Ministry of Interior in Sana’a admitted that its armed men were responsible for the explosion that targeted a house in the city of Rada’a in Al-Bayda Governorate, central Yemen.

The Ministry's spokesperson, Brigadier General Abdul Khaleq Al-Ajri, expressed "deep regret for the tragic incident" that resulted in the deaths of several civilians. Al-Ajri attributed the crime to what he described as a "mistake" by some security personnel "during a security operation to pursue some saboteurs, in an irresponsible reaction involving the excessive and unlawful use of force without consulting or obtaining directives from the security leadership or the Ministry of Interior." The retaliatory explosion followed the killing of a relative of a commander affiliated with the Ansar Allah (Houthi) group in Rada’a.

Business and Finance:

On March 18, 2024, the activities of Global Money Week 2024 commenced in the city of Aden. On March 30, the Sana’a authorities announced the minting of a new 100-riyal coin. Officials at the Central Bank of Yemen in Sana’a stated during a press conference that the new coin would be officially circulated in areas under Ansar Allah (Houthi) group control.

In response, the Central Bank of Yemen in Aden declared that the Houthi-led initiative to mint a 100-riyal coin and introduce it into circulation instead of the legal tender was "illegal."

Rights and Freedoms:

The General Authority for Regulating Land Transport Affairs in Aden announced the suspension of land travel from Yemen to Saudi Arabia, effective March 9, 2024, due to severe congestion at the Al-Wadea border crossing and the Al-Abr checkpoint, caused by the high volume of citizens and buses.

In the city of Aden, the Public Prosecutor's Office of the internationally recognized Yemeni government established a specialized division to combat electronic blackmail crimes via social media, according to the Saba News Agency.

Eritrean authorities released 11 Yemeni fishermen who had been detained at sea off the coast of Al-Mokha district, west of Taiz Governorate.

Dozens of arbitrarily detained individuals in the prisons of the 4th Mountain Infantry Brigade in Al-Maqatirah district began an open-ended hunger strike on March 16, protesting their continued detention for six months without legal justification, according to their relatives.

Amnesty International has called on the Southern Transitional Council to release human rights lawyer Sami Marsh, who has been arbitrarily detained for over four months without any charges or access to medical care, legal representation, or communication with his family. In a statement issued on Wednesday, the organization stated, "The de facto authorities of the Southern Transitional Council must immediately and unconditionally release human rights lawyer Sami Yassin Qa'id Marsh, who has been arbitrarily detained without charge for more than four months, simply for his work in seeking accountability and justice for human rights violations in Yemen."

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) reported that "over 30% of girls in Yemen are married before the age of 18, and once they drop out of school, their chances of returning to education are slim, leading to a vicious cycle of intergenerational illiteracy and poverty." The report also highlighted that the prolonged conflict in Yemen, now in its ninth year, has caused mass displacement, devastated the country's economy, crippled basic service delivery systems, and led to a decline in education. According to the 2022-2023 Multi-Indicator Cluster Survey, "one in four children is not attending school."

Mwatana for Human Rights, in partnership with the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights, organized an event titled "European Arms and the War in Yemen: Legal Strategies to Combat Impunity."

The Ministry of Human Rights in the internationally recognized Yemeni government received a report regarding the death of educational expert Sabri Al-Hakimi under torture in the prisons of the Security and Intelligence Agency in Sana’a.

Health:

The internationally recognized Yemeni government approved a development plan for Al-Jumhuriya Hospital in Aden, committing 3.6 billion riyals over the course of a year to fund its implementation. The plan includes a monthly allocation of 300 million riyals, shared equally between the government and the local authority in Aden, ensuring full financing for the hospital's development.

Local authorities in Hadhramaut Governorate signed two contracts with the Social Fund for Development to finance projects addressing malnutrition in the governorate, valued at over $2 million, funded by the World Bank and the British government.

An international medical organization revealed that the number of children infected with measles in the districts under the Ansar Allah (Houthi) group control in Taiz Governorate has exceeded 1,500 cases over the past seven months.

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) reported in March 2024 that the measles isolation unit it opened in August 2023 at the Mother and Child Hospital in Al-Hawban, Taiz Governorate, had treated a total of 1,552 measles cases as of February this year, most of whom were under the age of four.

Environment:

The crisis cell tasked by the government with handling the situation of the vessel "Rubymar" announced that the ship has sunk in the Red Sea. This comes more than 12 days after it was targeted by the Ansar Allah (Houthi) group. The sinking is expected to have catastrophic environmental consequences, as described by the crisis cell.

The Bani Sinan Agricultural Cooperative Association in Taiz Governorate has launched a community initiative to plant one million Yemeni coffee trees between 2019 and 2025. According to a press statement by the association’s chairman, Abdul Karim Qasim Al-Nubairah, 418,000 coffee seedlings have already been planted in various areas of Taiz over the past years.

Local media reported that citizens found the body of a woman who had been swept away by rainwater floods beneath the "Al-Subol" bridge. This tragic incident occurred shortly after a similar incident involving three children, two of whom were rescued, marking the first victims of the rainy season in Ibb Governorate, central Yemen.

Youth and Sports:

The Al-Wahda Club in Sana'a announced the launch of the seventh annual Ramadan Gathering, which includes various events and competitions across different games and disciplines. The program features a football tournament across several age categories (reserves, juniors, beginners, and up-and-coming talents), an international chess tournament, and the Al-Wahda Equestrian Academy’s showjumping competition, showcasing the skills of both riders and horses. Additionally, the cultural segment of the gathering includes a Quran recitation contest and a general knowledge competition covering topics in religion, history, science, and literature.

Culture and Arts:

The Aden Culture Office celebrated World Theatre Day, which falls on March 27th, with a special Ramadan evening featuring the play "The King and Revenge." The play was directed by Ali Subeit, with assistance from Fouad Howaidi, and was written by the artist and playwright Abdul Rab Al-Haithami, in collaboration with several prominent theatre stars in Aden.

Society:

Yemen has been ranked among the five most miserable Arab countries and one of the top 20 globally on the list of the world’s most miserable countries, according to the Hanke Misery Index. This annual index, developed by Steve Hanke, a professor of applied economics at Johns Hopkins University, ranks 157 countries based on unemployment rates, inflation, lending rates, and changes in per capita GDP.